[News] Jeff Carter and David Krejci out for World Cup

[Coach]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Backlund?

Yeah, I hope he does well, but he's not an exciting player like Gaudreau. I'll watch Gaudreau because he does things I've never seen before. I'm happy for Backlund and maybe I'll tune into a Swedish game, we'll see.

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

Hudler ignores calls to be a replacement for the Czech team:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jiri-hu...134037082.html

Roman Jedlicka
Roman Jedlicka – ‏@jedli

Czech GM Martin Rucinsky: "Hudler didnt answer phone calls & messages. His agent Petr Svoboda then told us Jiri didnt have interest to go."

Good. He got consistently boned by that group.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Yeah I don't blame Jiri at all. Been ignored way too many times.

[TheoFleury]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

All of it is an attempt to make money. Where do you draw the line for "cash grab"? Should they never try new things?

They are likely abandoning the prestige of the Olympics so they can make more money with an inferior tournament. If that's not a cash grab, I don't know what is.

[TheIronMaiden]

Will this tournament even get international attention? It seems to me that its target is a North American audience. That to me is why the WC is not that exciting, because there doesn't seem to be much pride accoiciated with it. With this being the third of such events it seems the market is too saturated. Now if they dropped the olypmics and made the event every two of four years it might seem that something was on the line. This year, however, feels meaningless. That said, I'll probably watch, because I'm a hopeless addict.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by TheoFleury

They are likely abandoning the prestige of the Olympics so they can make more money with an inferior tournament. If that's not a cash grab, I don't know what is.

So they should risk their businesses for nothing? Not really nothing I guess, but for the benefit of the Olympics?

Why is that a cash grab? I'm honestly confused why that's a bad move

[Coach]

I really do believe that the Olympics opens the world to best on best hockey, people that would never otherwise watch it, and turns them on to watching and/or participating in the sport. I honestly think that 2002 Salt Lake and 2010 Vancouver created whole new generations of fans and players in the United States. It's the premier event of a world-wide sports competition.

I don't think this has the same appeal. People who like hockey will watch it. People who don't normally follow hockey have absolutely zero idea that this is happening.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by TheoFleury

They are likely abandoning the prestige of the Olympics so they can make more money with an inferior tournament. If that's not a cash grab, I don't know what is.

That's a terrible argument.

Their product is the game and their players. The Olympics utilizes their players and makes huge sums of money off of it, without sharing with the NHL (while the NHL acccepts the risk that some of their players will get hurt).

So looking to create a replacement product, that they can control and retain the revenues from, is a perfectly reasonable business strategy that EVERY business on earth would look to do in a similar situation.

Coming out with new jerseys every other week is a cash grab. Trying to retain control of your product is good business.

(though I would personally rather have the Olympics)

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

All of it is an attempt to make money. Where do you draw the line for "cash grab"? Should they never try new things?

I consider the playoffs and regular season the core business. This tournament like the all-star game is just a cash grab. Hey I'm fine with trying new things but nobody asked for this. Now that Russians and eastern europeans play in the NHL there's really no need for a Canada Cup style tournament. Nobody in the US will even realize it's going on and interest is lukewarm in Canada even. IMO it's kind of embarrassing for the league staging a tournament nobody cares about. That said I hope the effort levels are better than the All Star game and the games are at least competitive.

As for the Olympic argument well that's different in that players want to play for their country rather than the money and I understand the NHL's stance but they can always choose not to let the players play during the season.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I consider the playoffs and regular season the core business. This tournament like the all-star game is just a cash grab. Hey I'm fine with trying new things but nobody asked for this. Nobody in the US will even realize it's going on and interest is lukewarm in Canada even. IMO it's kind of embarrassing for the league staging a tournament nobody cares about. That said I hope the effort levels are better than the All Star game and the games are at least competitive.

If there's poor fan engagement, there's no cash to grab. Your idea of a cash grab seems rather silly

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

If there's poor fan engagement, there's no cash to grab. Your idea of a cash grab seems rather silly

I feel you are being obtuse here as you know full well the NHL makes money from the television networks carrying it and will still make money even in half empty arenas. Maybe you can read up on the business side of the tournament without calling my idea silly;

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/wo...wing-the-game/

The NHL and NHLPA stand to make more than $100 million for the NHL and NHLPA to split. It is what it is man.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

If there's poor fan engagement, there's no cash to grab. Your idea of a cash grab seems rather silly

You're being way too pedantic in these World Cup arguments, Street.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by jayswin

You're being way too pedantic in these World Cup arguments, Street.

I don't think so. There's a connotation to "cash grab" that suggests there is some unprincipled profit motive. Gets annoying when this is a fairly straightforward business move. Then we get a hilarious Ken Campbell piece in defense that says they expect to make vast sums of money on advertising and ticket sales, but no one will watch. Which is it????

A cash grab is an as "bad" and "unethical". The league does not see risking their product to send players to the Olympics for free as a sound business policy. It's not. So they're trying to create their own tournament. You can debate whether there's merit to the idea, but to suggest it's somehow immoral is the same reason you see me get irritated in other threads.

"they want profit? They're bad people". It's annoying

[GirlySports]

They should have thought of not sending the players to the olympics for free in 98

[AC]

Good for Hudler, the fact he wasn't named to the 2014 Olympic team was ridiculous.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I don't think so. There's a connotation to "cash grab" that suggests there is some unprincipled profit motive. Gets annoying when this is a fairly straightforward business move. Then we get a hilarious Ken Campbell piece in defense that says they expect to make vast sums of money on advertising and ticket sales, but no one will watch. Which is it????

A cash grab is an as "bad" and "unethical". The league does not see risking their product to send players to the Olympics for free as a sound business policy. It's not. So they're trying to create their own tournament. You can debate whether there's merit to the idea, but to suggest it's somehow immoral is the same reason you see me get irritated in other threads.

"they want profit? They're bad people". It's annoying

Well I responded to this idea but unfortunately there's two separate threads going with this debate right now.

The bolded is basically all anyone is mad at. People are throwing out the money grab thing because this is what they came up with to replace the Olympics, which brings entire countries together and creates life long memories.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

They should have thought of not sending the players to the olympics for free in 98

Agreed. That doesn't change anything

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I consider the playoffs and regular season the core business. This tournament like the all-star game is just a cash grab.

LOL. The NHL and NHLPA have a product: the highest quality hockey players in the world. They commodify it with a regular season, playoffs, and special events. It's all about making money. You're just arbitrarily drawing a line saying "Here lies good and here lies evil" to fit your opinion.

[TheoFleury]

Not good and evil... more just 'meh'. A lot of people just don't care and you can't make them. I think it's going to make headlines because the ratings are going to be bad. No one outside of Canada will care and even inside of Canada, I doubt it draws any better than random weekday games in February. Personally I hope it fails because I want to see NHLers in the Olympics again.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I feel you are being obtuse here as you know full well the NHL makes money from the television networks carrying it and will still make money even in half empty arenas. Maybe you can read up on the business side of the tournament without calling my idea silly;

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/wo...wing-the-game/

The NHL and NHLPA stand to make more than $100 million for the NHL and NHLPA to split. It is what it is man.

That's an incredibly strange article. Ken is upset that this tournament isn't trying to "grow the game" like the Olympics do (even though there's plenty of analysis that shows it doesn't anymore), and says no one will watch. He also says the NHL will make money because people will watch. What a strange position to take, though he's full of those

[jayswin]

But you do know that a bunch of people can watch and the NHL will make money without great ratings though, right. You keep going on about the hypocrisy of people saying it will be very lame and under watched, yet saying it's about the money. Well there's nuance in the viewership vs profit, and they don't need a hugely successfully tournament to make money.